New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution from a spa in Florida that has been tied to human trafficking. Jupiter, Florida police say that Kraft has been charged with paying for sexual services at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter. One detective has said that the acts were caught on surveillance video, as the spa was one of 10 recently shut down in the area following a human trafficking investigation that, per arrest records, had the women in those spas in “sexual servitude.”
Per Mary Helen Moore of Treasure Coast Newspapers, Hua Zhang, the owner of the spa, has been arrested on charges of deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution, keeping and frequenting a house of prostitution and 26 counts of procuring for prostitution.
According to Perry Russum of NBC10 Boston, the sheriff of Martin County in Florida said that the women in the spa were given no days off, averaged about 1.500 men per year, and their hygiene was “minimal.” Reports indicate that the women were coming to America for the promise of legitimate employment and were essentially imprisoned instead.
“We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity,” a Kraft spokesperson said in a statement. “Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further.”
